Religious and Moral Ideals of the Laity in Alfonso X`s Cantigas de Santa Maria

«Cantigas de Santa Maria» is a collection of 420 Galician-Portuguese marian poems, composed under the supervision of Alfonso X in the last years of his reign. In this paper we will focus on the representation of the ideal laymen (peasants and knights) in this literary work. The moral images described in the miracle-tales allow us to identify the main aspects of Christian righteousness from the point of view of the King Alfonso X. For peasants, this ideal consists of two main elements: the purity and sincerity of their faith in God and the Virgin, and the danger that the sin of greed presents for them. The «Cantigas de Santa María» provide us with a unique complete and positive vision of peasantry for the 13th century and develops the conception of the special connexion with God of the simple people. Turning to the images of knights, Alfonso X use different traditions, from the poetry of the troubadours to the ideal of chivalry, preached by St. Bernard of Clairvaux, to create a new ideology, that would consolidate under his ruling the Castilian chivalry in a «Holy War» against the moors. That is why, the cantigas about knights play special attention to the sins of lust, unjust violence, and greed. Our conclusions corroborate the thesis of the composition of the «Cantigas de Santa María» as a means to consolidate the Christian identity of Alfonso X’s kingdom, bringing together its habitants under the rule of a Christian king.